Fantasy and Political Violence: The Meaning of Anticommunism in Chile

Understanding Political Violence.- Otherness in Social Theory.- On Sacredness and Transgression: Understanding Social Antagonism.- Sexuality and Violence: Towards Feminine Ethics.- Democracy and Violence.- Outline of a Theory of Violence.- The Meaning of Anti-Communism in Chile.- Historical Fantasies: The Right and Left in Chile.- Metaphors of Hate.- The Meaning of Anti-Communism in Chile.

Dr. Margarita Palacios completed her doctoral thesis at the New School for Social Research in New York. She is now a lecturer at the School of Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck College, University of London.

Political violence is often understood in terms of rationality and strategic reasoning, or in terms of psychological breakdown due to structural transformations of society. Such approaches, however, allow us to understand only the ´tip of the iceberg´ of a much deeper social phenomenon. Margarita Palacios analyzes political antagonism as expressing meaning and desire while bringing to the fore the paradoxical dynamic of morality and enjoyment which accompanies political violence. Her perspective informed by social theory and psychoanalysis shows the interplay of fear, hate, moral claims, and desire.

This book is valuable reading for researchers and students from the social sciences and humanities, in particular in the fields of sociology, political science, cultural studies, Latin American studies, and the emerging field of psycho-social studies.

The Meaning of Anti-Communism in Chile